The Festa della Madonna della Salute is an annual religious event held on November 21 and centered around the Madonna della Salute church.

Contents

Origins

Santa Maria Della Salute

Venice was first struck by the plague in 1575. At that time, the Church of Redentore was constructed in attempts by the Venetians to ask for divine intervention. Venice was attacked by the plague again in 1629. Since, the construction of a church had seemingly taken Venice out of the previous plague, the Venetian Senate prayed to the Virgin Mary and ordered the construction of the Santa Madonna della Salute. In addition to the creation of the new church, the Senate mandated that the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin, occurring every November 21st, be celebrated at the new church. Since that time, the tradition has been upheld, with Venetian residents and officials making the pilgrimage to pay respect.

Construction of the Church

Santa Maria Della Salute was designed by Baldassare Longhena(1598-1682). Construction began in 1631 and wasn't completed until 1681. The church is a an octagonal building with Byzantine influence and a large dome. The most important collection of statues is the high alter arrangement, which depict Mary banishing the plague from Venice.

Present Day

The Salute procession starting at the Campo Santa Maria Zobenigo, crossing the temporary bridge, and ending at Salute church.

Today, the Festa della Madonna della Salute is one of the main religious and civic festivals in Venice. In addition to the religious event, another draw to the festival is the open market that is set up on the nearby Rio Terra del Catecumeni. Open on the days before and of the festival, this market sells carnival items such as candied apples, roasted nuts of many varieties, cotton candy, and baloons.

Traffic

The recorded pedestrian activity for the 2009 Festa della Madonna della Salute.

The traffic that the modern event generates is some of the densest that Venice sees all year. From a 2009 study on Venetian mobility[1], it was determined that during the day approximately 100,000 people, both tourists and Venetians, visit the Salute church. At any given time, up to 6000 attendees can be found in the area around the Salute church. To support the event, a temporary pontoon bridge is constructed across the Grand Canal and Vaporetto traffic is redirected to accommodate the large number of tourists and Venetians who visit the Santa Maria della Salute during the the day.


References

See Also

Santa Maria della Salute

External Links

Overview of the Festa della Salute

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